Buying meal in the big bag is the single easiest way to cut a grocery bill. It only works if the bottom of the bag is as good as the top, and in a Harare rainy season that is not automatic.
What actually goes wrong
Three things spoil meal, and only one of them is time.
Moisture. Meal draws water out of humid air. Once it does, it cakes, and the damp is what lets mould get started. This is the main risk between November and March.
Weevils. Maize weevils usually arrive already in the bag as eggs and hatch in your cupboard. Warmth speeds them up.
Smells. Meal is porous and picks up whatever is next to it. Paraffin, soap and strong cleaning products are the usual culprits, and the taste does not cook out.
Four things that fix it
Decant it. The paper or woven bag is packaging, not storage. Move the meal into a food-grade bucket or plastic drum with a lid that actually seals. This is the single biggest improvement.
Get it off the floor. A concrete floor is colder than the room, and that temperature difference is where condensation forms. A pallet, a plank or a shelf is enough.
Keep it away from the wrong neighbours. Not next to the paraffin, not next to the soap powder, not under the sink.
Use the old bag first. When you open a new one, put it behind the old. Obvious, and almost nobody does it.
If the weevils get in anyway
Sift the meal. Meal that has been sifted and has no webbing or musty smell is still fine to cook, whatever your feelings about it. Meal that smells sour or looks clumped and grey is not — that is mould, not insects, and no amount of cooking makes it safe.
How much to buy
Work backwards from what your household actually eats in a month rather than from the price per kilo. A 20 kg bag stored properly is excellent value. A 20 kg bag with three kilos thrown away is worse than buying 5 kg at a time.
What is good this week
Seasonal produce, price drops and the odd recipe. One email a week, and one click to stop them.
